"Pictures don't lie, seeing is believing": Exploring Attitudes to the Introduction of Pictorial Warnings on Cigarette Packs in Ghana

PURPOSE: To compare perceptions of text and pictorial warning labels on cigarette packs among Ghanaian smokers and nonsmokers and explore their views on the introduction of pictorial warnings in Ghana.

METHODS: Qualitative study involving 12 focus group discussions with 50 smokers and 35 nonsmokers aged 15 and over in Kumasi, Ghana. Semistructured discussion guides alongside visual discussant aids were used to explore the perception, acceptance, and potential use of pictorial warning labels in Ghana.

RESULTS: Health warnings combining text and a picture (pictorial) were perceived by both smokers and nonsmokers to communicate health messages more effectively than text-only or picture-only warnings. The effect of text-only warnings was considered limited by low levels of literacy and those of any health warning on the pack by the common practice of single stick sales. Of the 6 health warnings tested, lung cancer, blindness, stroke, and throat and mouth cancer messages were perceived to have the most impact on smoking behavior, including uptake and quit attempts.

CONCLUSIONS: Warning labels combining pictures and text have the potential to reduce smoking uptake, increase quit attempts, and reduce smoking appeal among smokers and nonsmokers in Ghana. Measures to prevent single stick sales, or to promote health messages to purchasers of single sticks, are required.